Withdrawal and Salvation

The is the second installment of a series on the command to withdraw from the disorderly in 2 Thessalonians 3:6. Last week, we ended by noting how we must learn to trust God’s wisdom in this matter. This article will focus on how withdrawal is a salvation issue, that is, it is a matter of spiritual life and death (1 Cor. 5:5).

Saving someone’s life is no easy, convenient matter. It takes energy, wisdom, and compassion. This is an oft-neglected command not because it is difficult to understand, but because it is difficult to administer. It has never been easy to follow this, but it is so essential to the health of the church. It certainly was easier for the church at Corinth to remain proud in their religion rather than dealing with the fornicator in their midst, but it was not what God wanted (1 Cor. 5:2). If one in the midst of the body of Christ persistently engages in a public sin without facing discipline, then others in the congregation will feel free to engage in open sin as well. If this attitude permeates a congregation long enough, returning to the Lord’s way may take the withdrawal of so many that a split in the congregation may occur as a result. It is best then to follow this command and nip each problem in the bud before the sinful influence spreads. The purity of the church is an oft-forgotten aim of withdrawal (1 Cor. 5:6); regardless of whether the disciplined person repents, the purity of the church will be maintained.

In regard to how quickly a congregation moves to the final phase of discipline in withdrawal, we have mentioned how Paul had already taken previous warning measures to correct this behavior at Thessalonica. In the first letter he again gave them a command to work and reminded them it was commanded when Paul was in Thessalonica (1 Thess. 4:11-12). He instructed all of the members of the Thessalonian congregation to “warn the unruly,” admonishing those who were behaving disorderly by not working. The first letter with these commands was read before all the members of the church (1 Thess. 5:27). Since those commands had continued to go unheeded by some at Thessalonica, Paul, by apostolic authority, gave a command for the final phase of discipline for these unruly members: withdraw from them. The term “church discipline” is a more general than the way many use it, associating it only with withdrawal. When any Christian admonishes another brother, it is church discipline; when elders confront members about sinful practices, it is church discipline; when a preacher delivers a sermon where he rebukes practices among those in the congregation (2 Tim. 4:2), it is church discipline. Withdrawal is the final phase of discipline: a punitive phase when the one out of step will not respond to verbal warnings. How fast a congregation moves to the final phases is matter of judgment that is not stipulated in scripture. The timeframe for the successive phases of discipline must fit the individual’s spiritual maturity, mental and emotional state, and responsiveness.

Many times, an improper application this command is due to an overall misunderstanding of the church. Some have the false idea that there are saved people outside of the Lord’s church. Withdrawal is not excluding someone from a club because we think we are better than them. No, it is an attempt to save their soul (1 Cor. 5:5). There should be no distinction manufactured between the saved and the church; if one is not fit for church membership it is because one is in a lost state (Acts 2:47). If genuine repentance takes place, then God has mandated that the church accept the person back with the full blessings of brotherly love (2 Cor. 2:5-11); to continue to withhold fellowship from him is wholly contrary to the Lord’s commands.

Since God identifies the church as the saved, it does us no good to swell in numbers of people who are not saved by failing to practice church discipline. Next week, we will look at the command to withdrawal and numbers.